Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what target time is set by the Scottish Ambulance Service for (a) arriving at the scene of a call-out and (b) delivering a patient to hospital if that is the outcome of a call-out.

Susan Deacon: In responding to emergency 999 calls the Scottish Ambulance Service aims to meet national response times targets for getting an ambulance to the scene of the call-out. These vary according to population density and are as follows:

  High Density – 95 per cent reached within 14 minutes, 50 per cent within seven minutes

  Medium Density – 95 per cent reached within 18 minutes, 50 per cent within eight minutes

  Sparse Density – 95 per cent reached within 21 minutes, 50 per cent within eight minutes

  The performance of the Scottish Ambulance Service in relation to these targets is reported in the service’s annual report. A copy of the report for 1999-2000 was sent to each MSP.

  Once at the scene of a call-out, ambulance paramedic staff will use their judgment to decide what course of action is required, depending on the medical condition of the patient. In some cases, treatment at the scene will be appropriate, and in others the patient’s needs will best be served by moving them to hospital as quickly as possible. There is therefore no set target time for delivering the patient to hospital.

Asylum Seekers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it passed a copy of the Social Justice Committee’s response to petition PE242 on asylum seekers to the Home Office and, if so, whether it made any recommendations about the content of the report.

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the national asylum support service regarding any resourcing problems faced by those voluntary organisations involved in offering services and assistance to asylum seekers in Scotland, as identified in the Social Justice Committee’s response to petition PE242 on asylum seekers.

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government and the national asylum support service regarding the issues concerning the voucher system for asylum seekers raised in the Social Justice Committee’s response to petition PE242.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues including asylum seekers.

Asylum Seekers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it, or any of its agencies or public bodies within its responsibility, will undertake any regular inspection of the conditions and treatment of asylum seekers at Dungavel House when it begins use as a detention centre.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question 17739 on 4 September 2001.

Birds

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will promote the publication of information regarding control of pests including birds and whether such information will be placed in the public domain to enable those involved in land management to assess in what circumstances applications are likely to be granted in respect of particular species.

Ross Finnie: Control of pests under the Pests Act 1954 does not require a licence. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which provides for the protection of all wild birds, four general licences are in force in Scotland which permit authorised persons to kill a range of birds referred to as pest species by certain means in certain circumstances. Individual licence applications in respect of these species are not required, but they are required under that Act for birds not covered by the four general licences.

  We intend to produce a range of pest control information leaflets which will be freely available.

Central Heating

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any involvement or discussions with the Stay Warm energy supply company concerning pensioners’ heating payments.

Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive has received information about the Staywarm product, but has not had any discussions with the company in relation to the product or pensioners’ heating payments.

Child Welfare

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police surgeons in each police force area are designated as able to take part in joint paediatric/forensic examinations of children suspected of having been abused.

Mr Jim Wallace: The number of police surgeons currently trained and designated to take part in joint paediatric/forensic examination of children suspected of having been abused are:

  


Central Scotland Police 
  

7 
  



Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary 
  

4 
  



Fife Constabulary 
  

0* 
  



Grampian Police 
  

3 
  



Lothian and BORDERs Police 
  

7 
  



Northern Constabulary 
  

2 
  



Strathclyde Police 
  

5 
  



Tayside Police 
  

3 
  



  * Fife Constabulary – The matter of joint paediatric/forensic examinations of children suspected of being abused is under consideration by a sub-committee of the Fife Child Protection Committee. Presently, such examinations are conducted by a qualified medical practitioner who is accompanied by the police surgeon.

Culture

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it, or any of its agencies, keeps a record of art collections, owned by Scottish collectors or their executors, which are available for loan and, if so, whether any such collections are currently on loan to, or in storage with, institutions in the UK outwith Scotland and, if not, whether it will consider maintaining such a record of privately owned art collections.

Allan Wilson: We do not keep a record of privately owned art collections which are available for loan and have no plans to do so.

Culture

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the role of Scottish Ballet does not change without a debate involving all interested parties and a discussion of the issue in the Parliament.

Allan Wilson: I have asked the Scottish Arts Council to ensure that Scottish Ballet consults widely and that Scottish Ballet’s plans are consistent with the overall five-year strategy for dance that the Scottish Arts Council is currently developing.

Culture

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the items currently in store in the part of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery that previously housed the Scottish Museum of Antiquities will be moved to the Granton store and when this part of the gallery will be renovated to provide extended exhibition space for the gallery.

Allan Wilson: The National Museums of Scotland and the National Galleries of Scotland are currently discussing matters relating to their joint occupation of the Findlay building. However, as we have already made clear, funds to renovate the Findlay building will not be provided before the National Galleries of Scotland have completed their two current priority projects, development of the Playfair Project and the Granton Collections Store.

Dentists

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists practising in Scotland are not entitled to any payment under the commitment payments scheme because of (a) not achieving the £25,000 earnings threshold or (b) not having completed 10 years of service and what the estimated cost would be of extending the commitment payments scheme to such persons.

Malcolm Chisholm: In the year 2000-01, a total of 1,902 general dental practitioners in Scotland were eligible for consideration for commitment payments, subject to meeting the relevant commitment payments criteria.

  In 2000-01, an average of 139 dentists failed to meet the minimum gross earnings criteria of £25,000. An average of 45 dentists failed to meet the 10-year length of service criteria. An average of 33 dentists failed to meet both the minimum gross earnings criteria of £25,000 and the 10-year length of service criteria.

  In 2000-01, there would have been no additional cost of extending the scheme to such persons, as the commitment payment scheme for that year was subject to a cash limited budget of £20 million for Great Britain. The effect would have been to decrease the quarterly monies available to qualifying dentists.

Disabled People

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an upper age limit of 65 applies in respect of NHS respite and rehabilitation breaks for disabled people and, if so, whether there are any plans to review this limit.

Malcolm Chisholm: The provision of short break or respite care services that are relevant and accessible to all sections of the community is a shared responsibility of local authorities, the NHS and housing agencies. In recognition of the importance of respite care we are providing local authorities with significantly increased resources over the next three years to develop an extra 22,000 weeks of short breaks a year across Scotland by 2003-04. The NHS may provide respite and rehabilitation care where there is a clinical need. There is no age limit to NHS care. An expert group under the chief medical officer is currently looking at the journey of care for older people in hospitals and in the community to see what improvements can be made, and this group will also investigate allegations of ageism within the NHS in Scotland.

Enterprise

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14840 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 18 April 2001, on what grounds it is not its policy to disclose the times and dates of meetings with the Defence Diversification Agency in Scotland since its inception.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Details of ministerial and official level meetings within government are internal matters for the parties concerned.

Fisheries

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in what areas fisheries research vessels have been working in each week since 1 January 2001 and what assessments of fish stocks have been made as a result of such research.

Rhona Brankin: I have asked Professor Hawkins, Chief Executive of Fisheries Research Services to respond. His response is as follows:

  A summary of the activities of the two fisheries research vessels, Scotia and Clupea, is provided in the table. The output from the stock survey cruises, when combined with additional information from sampling at fish markets and surveys of discards on commercial vessels, provides the Scottish input to internationally co-ordinated assessment work by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas. Recent assessments of particular relevance to Scotland are:

  


herring assessment working group for the area south of 
  62ºN 
  

13-22 March 2001 
  



working group on nephrops stocks 
  

3-11 April 2001 
  



working group on the assessment of demersal stocks in the 
  North sea and Skagerrak 
  

19-28 June 2001 
  



working group on the assessment of northern shelf demersal 
  stocks 
  

14-23 August 2001 
  



  


Date 
  

Area 
  

Task 
  


Scotia




5-14 January 
  

Firth of Forth, Firth of Tay, Moray Firth, Minches, Firth 
  of Clyde, Solway Firth 
  

Sampling of water, bottom sediments and fish to assess 
  the biological effects of pollutants 
  



18 January-6 February 
  

North Sea – Firth of Forth to Shetland 
  

International trawling survey to assess the brood strengths 
  of juvenile demersal fish stocks 
  



7-24 February 
  

N/A 
  

Annual refit 
  



25 February-13 March 
  

North coast of Scotland, Minches, Outer Hebrides to 10° 
  degrees W., North West of Ireland, Irish Sea 
  

International trawling survey to assess the brood strength 
  of juvenile demersal fish stocks. 
  



17-28 March 
  

Statfjord oilfield, site midway between Shetland & 
  Norway, site in German Bight, two sites between German Bight 
  and Aberdeen. 
  

Sampling of water, plankton and fish, to assess the biological 
  effects of pollutants. 
  



2-6 April 
  

Aberdeen Bay, Moray Firth, North Coast of Scotland 
  

Development of new sampling equipment, calibration of sonar 
  systems. 
  



10 April-1 May 
  

North of Scotland, Hebrides, West of Ireland, Celtic Sea 
  

International triennial mackerel egg survey -–aimed at 
  providing a spawning stock estimate for mackerel. 
  



4-18 May 
  

Northern North Sea, Faroe-Shetland Channel 
  

Hydrographic surveys and servicing of current meter/tide 
  gauge moorings to investigate ocean climate change. 
  



19-23 May 
  

Firth of Forth, Moray Firth, East of Orkney 
  

Sampling of fish for evidence of disease and to assess 
  the biological effects of hydrocarbons. 
  



7-29 June 
  

Fladen, Noup, North Minch 
  

Estimation of the distribution and abundance of nephrops 
  and to derive stock assessments for these areas. 
  



3-23 July 
  

North of Scotland, Hebrides, West of Ireland, Celtic Sea 
  

International triennial mackerel egg survey -–aimed at 
  providing a spawning stock estimate for mackerel. 
  



3-23 July 
  

North western North Sea from the Moray Firth to Shetland 
  – excluding Norwegian and Faroese waters 
  

International herring acoustic and fishing survey – aimed 
  at providing an estimate of herring stock size in this area. 
  



26 July 
  

Peterhead 
  

Open day on vessel for fishermen and the general public. 
  



27 July-19 August 
  

North Sea from 54 – 61 degrees North 
  

International trawling survey to provide an index of abundance 
  of demersal fish stocks. 
  



Clupea




Date 
  

Area 
  

Task 
  



8-25 January 
  

N/A 
  

Annual Refit 
  



26 January-8 February 
  

Loch Nevis, Loch Hourn, Loch Duich, Loch Alsh, Loch Kishorn 
  

Fishing, acoustic, plankton and grab surveys to establish 
  the abundance and distribution of fish, shellfish and plankton 
  in these areas. 
  



14-27 February 
  

Shetland 
  

Scallop fishing survey to provide an estimate of scallop 
  abundance and distribution for stock assessment purposes. 
  



5-16 March 
  

Wee Bankie, Marr Bank, Berwick Bank – off the Firth of 
  Forth 
  

Sandeel abundance and relating the distribution to the 
  characteristics of the sea bed sediments and hydrography 
  of the area. 
  



2-11 April 
  

Loch Torridon, Loch Duich, Loch Sunart 
  

Chemical, hydrographic and sealice surveys to provide information 
  on the environmental impact of salmon farms. 
  



25 April-11 May 
  

Clyde, North Channel, Minches, Shetland, Moray Firth 
  

Sampling of sewage sludge and other dump sites around Scotland 
  for chemical and microbial analysis and to assess the environmental 
  impact of these sites. 
  



22 May-11 June 
  

Wee Bankie, Marr Bank, Berwick Bank areas – off the Firth 
  of Forth 
  

Sandeel abundance, distribution and population age structure, 
  examining the relationship between sandeels and other fish 
  species present. 
  



15 June-2 July 
  

Scottish coast from Firth of Forth to Orkney 
  

Scallop fishing survey to provide an estimate of scallop 
  abundance and distribution for stock assessment purposes. 
  



6-20 July 
  

Loch Torridon, Loch Ainort, Loch Duich 
  

Chemical, hydrographic and sealice surveys to provide information 
  on the environmental impact of salmon farms. 
  



7-22 August 
  

Shetland 
  

To carry out a sandeel abundance survey for stock assessment 
  purposes.

Fisheries

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what negotiations it has had with the European Commission regarding possible banning of 70 to 79 millimetre mesh sizes for nephrops in the west of Scotland.

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what recommendations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government or the European Commission with respect to nephrops mesh sizes in the west of Scotland.

Rhona Brankin: Measures to protect cod in waters to the west of Scotland next year were agreed in July. Nephrops fishermen will be able to continue to catch nephrops in these waters with nets of mesh sizes between 70 to 79 millimetre provided that no more than 5 per cent of the catch consists of cod. This outcome emerged after a series of meetings between Commission officials, scientists, UK negotiators and industry representatives.

Hospitals

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital beds there were in each hospital in the Clydesdale parliamentary constituency in 2000, how many there are currently and how many of these are or were designated for elderly or geriatric patients.

Susan Deacon: This is an operational matter for the NHS in Lanarkshire. I have asked the chief executive of Lanarkshire NHS Board to write with the details requested. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Parliament’s reference centre.

Local Government Finance

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what actual and projected costs have been, or will be, incurred by the commissioner for local administration in Scotland in each year from 1997 to 2002.

Peter Peacock: This is a matter for Audit Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally

Multiple Sclerosis

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is currently taking to implement the Scottish needs assessment programme (SNAP) report on multiple sclerosis, published in October 2000.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive believes that the implementation of the SNAP report on multiple sclerosis (MS) deserves to be given priority by the NHS in Scotland. While implementation is in the first place a matter for health boards and NHS Trusts, the health department has sought information from NHSScotland about various aspects of treatment and care for MS sufferers, and will be extending the coverage of this information soon. The department will go on to discuss the performance of the NHS in relation to the treatment and care of MS sufferers with the boards themselves, involving the MS Society Scotland where appropriate.

  In addition, the SNAP recommendations on collaboration among clinicians in treating MS and on the need for better communications with MS sufferers are being addressed as part of wider initiatives including the introduction of managed clinical networks, and the investment of £14 million over the next three years to improve the capacity of the NHS to communicate with, listen to and work in partnership with individuals and support groups. The issue of the prescription of beta interferon was already under review by the Health Technology Board for Scotland.

  In wider terms we are pursuing our commitment in "Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change" to work with the NHS in Scotland, patients and patient support groups to help improve services for people with chronic enduring conditions like MS. The chief medical officer has been asked to consider how best the voluntary bodies can be involved in this process and the MS Society has been invited to submit their ideas on this process.

  The Scottish Executive funds SNAP. In due course a follow-up audit will be carried out to check progress against the recommendations.

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12758 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 21 February 2001, whether the working group’s report in relation to the research report "The General Permitted Development Order and Related Mechanisms" has now been completed.

Lewis Macdonald: No. The report will be published on completion, and a news release will be issued to highlight the main conclusions.

Police

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the police have approved a police service parliamentary scheme and, if so, when the Executive will take a decision on the scheme.

Mr Jim Wallace: Scottish ministers support the development of appropriate arrangements for the exchange of information between the police service and members of the Scottish Parliament. The precise form of these arrangements is however a matter for police forces and MSPs to determine.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the staffing levels have been at each house block in each Scottish Prison Service prison for (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001 to date.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Information in the form requested is not readily available and could not be produced except at disproportionate cost. SPS staffing figures are given in Appendix 7 of the SPS annual report for the years in question, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s reference centre.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many acts of self-harm were logged at HM Prison Kilmarnock in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001 to date.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The numbers of acts of self-harm reported to SPS by Premier Prison Services Ltd, the operators of Kilmarnock have been:

  1999-2000: 20

  2000-01: 13

  2001 to date: 9

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a high incidence of staff bullying at HM Prison Kilmarnock and, if so, what action it is taking in response.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS do not collect such information which is solely a matter for Premier Prison Services Ltd, the operators of Kilmarnock.

Prison Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what outstanding hours in lieu are owed to staff in each local and open prison establishment, listed by staff category and giving the totals for each establishment and the Scottish Prison Service as a whole.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The readily available information is as follows:

  Net TOIL Balance by Establishment at 1 August 2001

  


Establishment 
  

Time off in Lieu (TOIL) Balance 
  



HMP Aberdeen 
  

9,861 
  



HMP Barlinnie 
  

4,452 
  



HMP Castle Huntly 
  

817 
  



HMP Cornton Vale 
  

2,797 
  



HM YOI Dumfries 
  

6,596 
  



HMP Edinburgh 
  

3,146 
  



HMP YOI Glenochil 
  

2,864 
  



HMP Greenock 
  

2,263 
  



HMP Inverness 
  

1,320 
  



HMP Low Moss 
  

1,509 
  



HMP Noranside 
  

1,648 
  



HMP Perth 
  

2,814 
  



HMP Peterhead 
  

7,833 
  



HMP Polmont 
  

4,699 
  



HMP Shotts 
  

3,760 
  



Total 
  

56,379

Prison Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current staff turnover is at HMP Kilmarnock in relation to the Scottish Prison Service as a whole.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS does not hold information on staff turnover at Kilmarnock. It is solely a matter for Premier Prison Services, the operators of the prison. Staff turnover in the Scottish Prison Service was 4.4 per cent in the year to 31 March 2001.

Prison Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current rate of staff turnover is in the Scottish Prison Service compared to the five-year period prior to the introduction of the staff structure review instigated in March 1995.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  This information is not held centrally.

Prison Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide for the last three years and the current year to date, for each local prison establishment, the number of staff in each category and number of inmates, giving the staff/inmates ratio in each case.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information is not readily available and could not be produced except at disproportionate cost. Prisoner populations and staff in post figures are given in Appendices 2 and 7 of the SPS annual reports, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s reference centre.

Prison Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) reception and (b) non-reception drug tests have been carried out on new inmates at each local prison in each of the last three years and this year to date, and in the Scottish Prison Service as a whole, giving the figures also as a percentage of new inmates in each case.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  The readily available information is in the table:

  


Prison 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Reception Tests 
  

Total Tests 
  

Reception Tests 
  

Total Tests 
  

Reception Tests 
  

Total Tests 
  

Reception Tests 
  

Total Tests3




Aberdeen 
  

186 
  

779 
  

147 
  

904 
  

135 
  

1,079 
  

 


189 
  



Barlinnie 
  

 


2,868 
  

 


3,413 
  

100 
  

2,700 
  

 


705 
  



Dumfries1


8 
  

2992


2 
  

91 
  

17 
  

176 
  

 


91 
  



Edinburgh 
  

 


1,409 
  

 


2,604 
  

64 
  

2,014 
  

 


1,157 
  



Greenock 
  

 


523 
  

22 
  

544 
  

129 
  

885 
  

 


289 
  



Inverness 
  

 


262 
  

 


251 
  

17 
  

296 
  

 


61 
  



Perth 
  

 


1,159 
  

86 
  

1,233 
  

147 
  

1,842 
  

 


948 
  



SPS 
  

239 
  

14,297 
  

477 
  

17,178 
  

689 
  

15,680 
  

 


7,076 
  



  Notes:

  1. Local prison only, not including Glenochil young offenders institution (YOI), which holds long-term inmates transferred from other establishments.

  2. Figures include local prison and YOI, as disaggregated figures not available for that period.

  3. To 24 August 2001 (reception test figures not yet available).

Procurement

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what savings have been made by (a) it, (b) local authorities and (c) the NHS in Scotland over the last three years as a result of electronic procurement methods, in total and as a proportion of procurement spending, and how these figures compare with the equivalent UK figures.

Angus MacKay: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Procurement by local authorities is a matter for the individual body concerned.

  Savings announced by UK ministers in July this year were for UK central Government. They were based on a survey of the extent to which UK departments place orders by telephone, fax and other electronic means and of the extent to which invoices are paid through BACs and the Government procurement card. The Executive uses all of these methods in varying degrees and has done so for some time.

Security Industry

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to regulate the private security industry.

Mr Jim Wallace: Following informal discussions earlier this year with the police associations, local government and representatives from the private security industry, a consultation paper is being issued today containing proposals to regulate the industry. The consultation paper is being given wide circulation. The closing date for responses is 14 December 2001.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what strategy exists, in connection with the marketing of Scotland as a tourist destination, to promote Robert Burns abroad; which organisations and individuals have been involved in formulating any such strategy; what action has been taken in support of any such strategy, and what budget is made available annually to support any such strategy, detailing the amount spent in 1999-2000, 2000-01 and in 2001-02 to date.

Allan Wilson: The Executive is considering how best to develop a programme of events which, as part of the wider Scottish Tourism Strategy, will raise the profile and understanding of Burns both at home and abroad. We are currently consulting with a wide range of bodies—local authorities, enterprise, cultural and tourism bodies—as to how the Executive might contribute to their existing plans. Financial information is not available in the form requested.

Wildlife

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the identities of all applicants for licences for the taking or destruction of ravens under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Ross Finnie: Publication of the identities of applicants for licences to kill or take ravens under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is exempt from the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations 1992 and there are no plans to change this.

Wildlife

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to amend the provisions of the Environmental Information Regulations 1992 to allow for the disclosure of names and addresses of applicants for licences to kill (a) red squirrels, (b) ravens, (c) pigeons and (d) sparrows.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no such plans.